2012 AGM - Registration for the 2012 AFS-OC Annual Meeting and Conference is open through the Online Store. The event will take place March 01-03, at Viamede resort located on Stoney Lake, only 30 minutes north of Peterborough, in the Kawarthas. A call for presenters is underway. For further details see the Notice and Annual Meeting page.

LINK - A link to Fishwise - Database of World Fishes, has been added to the Links page under the Fisheries / Natural Resources category. Fishwise is a comprehensive reference site of all fish species. Comprising of nearly 97,000 Scientific fish names, 595,000 references and over 33,000 fish pictures it is a valuable source of information.

MEMBERSHIP - As of December 2011, the Ontario Chapter has 242 members!  The membership includes 146 regular, 63 student, 25 young professional, 5 retired and 3 life members. Are you a member yet? If not, check out the Membership page to find out why you should join today! Join AFS or renew for 2011 at www.fisheries.org/afs/membership.html. 

CONFERENCE - The 10th International Congress on the Biology of Fish will be held Madison, Wisconsin, July 15-19, 2012. Abstract submission is now open, Deadline: 31 March. Early Bird Registration ends 01 May. For further details follow the link under Meetings / Conferences on the Events & Conferences page.

LINK - A link to Fisheries Reports, the Archive of Fisheries Reports for the American Fisheries Society, has been added to the Links page under the Online Books, Journals, Publications category.

WORKSHOP - 2012 Ontario Fish Identification - If you are a fisheries biologist or a student registered in a fisheries biology program, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is providing an opportunity to improve your fish identification skills. The Department of Natural History, ROM, is offering 3-day workshops that will cover the broad array of families and provide an opportunity to develop specialized knowledge of a group of interest. In addition, we are offering a 2-day workshop on fish species at risk in Ontario. The workshops are designed primarily for professionals -- technicians, field biologists, and environmental consultants -- but other interested individuals are welcome. For further details see Workshops / Courses on the Events & Conferences page.

LINK - A link to Identification of Larval Fishes of the Great Lakes Basin with Emphasis on the Lake Michigan Drainage has been added to the Links page under the Online Books, Journals, Publications category.

NOTICE - The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is currently seeking submissions from qualified individuals for the development of a recovery strategy for the Cutlip Minnow. Detailed information on the procurement process, the deliverables and the submission requirements for this recovery strategy can be found at: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Species/2ColumnSubPage/STEL01_131228.html. All submissions must be received by January 23, 2012 at 4:30 pm. Concurrently, the MNR is soliciting scientific and monitoring information on this species to be considered by the authors in drafting the recovery strategies. This may include information related to the biology and distribution of the species, its habitat, threats, and/or approaches for protection and recovery. Information should be submitted to recovery.planning@ontario.ca by January 30, 2012.

MEETING - The 2012 Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes Meeting will be hosted by the University of Windsor, June 17-21, 2012. For further details follow the link under Meetings / Conferences on the Events & Conferences page.

CONFERENCE - The 6th World Fisheries Congress will be take place May 07-12, 2012 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland. For further details follow the link under Meetings / Conferences on the Events & Conferences page.

EMPLOYMENT - Tulloch Engineering has an opening for a permanent full-time Senior Fisheries Biologist at their Sudbury Office. For further details see the Job Posting on the Employment Opportunities page.

AFS-OC ELECTIONS - Election results are final. Our newly elected 2011-12 Ontario Chapter Executive Committee members include Brian Morrison (President-Elect); Nick Lapointe (Vice President) and Katie Easterling (Treasurer). For contact information, please see the Executive Committee page.

WORKSHOP - Analysis of Multivariate Data from Ecology and Environmental Science, using PRIMER v6 - The Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St Andrews, New Brunswick, 30 April to 04 May 2012. This five day workshop will cover the statistical analysis of assemblage data (species by samples matrices of abundance, area cover etc) and/or multi-variable environmental data which arise in a wide range of applications in environmental science and ecology, from environmental impact assessments, through fundamental community ecology studies and monitoring of widescale biodiversity change, to biomarker studies and purely physical or chemical analyses. For further details see Workshops / Courses on the Events & Conferences page.

NEW PUBLICATION - Fishes of Toronto is part of the Biodiversity Series developed by the City of Toronto in honour of the Year of Biodiversity 2010. A number of the non-human residents of Toronto will be profiled in the Series. It is hoped that despite the severe biodiversity loss due to massive urbanization, pollution, invasive species, habitat loss and climate change, the Biodiversity Series will help to re-connect people with the natural world, and raise awareness of the seriousness that biodiversity loss represents and how it affects them directly. The Series will inform residents and visitors of opportunities to appreciate the variety of species inhabiting Toronto and how to help reduce biodiversity loss by making informed individual decisions. Copies should be available from Toronto Public Libraries in the next few weeks. For a preview, see the Executive Summary.

GRADUATE OPPORTUNITY - (Post-Doctoral Fellow, Ph.D., or M.Sc.) Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton. Critical Thermal Habitats in Rivers. For further details see Graduate Studies on the Student Subunit page.

MEMBERSHIP - Paper renewal notices for 2012 AFS Membership have been mailed out. If you have not renewed and wish to do so online, please visit www.fisheries.org/afs/membership.html.

NOTICE - The DRAFT AFS Policy Statement on Need for an Immediate-Release Anesthetic/Sedative for Use in the Fisheries Disciplines is now available for comment and feedback before the final policy is brought to an electronic vote. The comment period will be through December 15th, after which a link will be provided for the final vote. The draft policy statement was discussed and approved by the AFS Governing Board to be brought to the full AFS membership for comment and vote. Please visit the AFS Forum to view and post comments regarding the policy statement.

LINK - A link to the AFS Blog, Forums and Social Networking website has been added to the Links page under the Social Networks category.

GRADUATE OPPORTUNITY - (MSc or PhD) Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Lab – Carleton University. Behavioural ecology of warmwater fishes in relation to restoration of Great Lakes coastal embayments. For further details see Graduate Studies on the Student Subunit page.

NEWSLETTER - The October 2011 Ontario Chapter Newsletter (Volume XI, Issue III) is now available. To download the latest issue of The Lateral Line, visit the Newsletters page.

STUDENT EXCOMM - The Ontario Chapter Student Subunit welcomes its new Executive: President - Lee Gutowsky, Vice-President - Andrew Ecclestone, and Secretary/Treasurer - Sarah Steele. For further details or contact information, see 2011-12 Student Subunit Executive on the Student Subunit page.

LINK - A link to the Canadian Field-Naturalist website, including online access to articles as been added to the Links page under the Online Books / Journals / Publications category.

NCD-AFS - The Fall 2011 edition of Mainstream is now available from the North Central Division website.

EMPLOYMENT - MMM Group is currently seeking Intermediate Fisheries Biologists for their Thornhill and Kitchener offices of Ecoplans Limited to join their Ecology Group to work under the general direction of a Senior Biologist within a diverse Ecology Team. They are also looking for an Aquatic Biologist based in their Ottawa location. For further details see the Job Postings on the Employment Opportunities page.

GRADUATE OPPORTUNITY - (PhD) 2012 Applied Ecology of Wild Atlantic Salmon – Dr. Rick Cunjak of the Canadian Rivers Institute and the University of New Brunswick is looking for an independent, resourceful, and motivated individual to conduct unique research. For further details see Graduate Studies on the Student Subunit page.

AGM 2011 - Student presentation award winners from the 2011 Annual Meeting have been posted.  Congratulations to Shannon Dorn (University of Waterloo) winner of the E.J. Crossman Award and  Alyssa Murdoch (University of Waterloo) winner of the OBFN Award. Abstracts are available in the 2011 AGM Program.

MEMBERSHIP - A link to the AFS Unit Survival Manual has been added to the Membership page.

HISTORY - The History page has been updated to include the Northwestern Ontario Chapter (NWO-AFS) Executive Committees and Newsletters. If you can assist with any omissions or have copies of missing NWO-AFS newsletters, please contact the webmaster or history@afs-oc.org.

CONFERENCE - Canada's first National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Congress will be held in Ottawa, ON, May 27-31, 2012. For further details follow the link under Meetings / Conferences on the Events & Conferences page.

NEWS - Wiper caught in Lake Ontario - Tim Rourke of Oakville caught a large "Wiper", a White Bass x Striped Bass hybrid, while fishing in Lake Ontario off the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station this past January. For more information see the News page.

LINK - A link to a new interactive Ministry of Natural Resources website, Fish ON-Line has been added to the Links page under the Government category.

INSURANCE - At the mid-term Governing Board meeting, the Board passed a resolution regarding insurance for non-US Chapters and Sections: "The Society will explore a method of providing liability insurance to Chapters and Sections acting outside of the United States that is equivalent in its coverage and its costs to insurance provided to Chapters and Sections acting in the United States". The minutes of the Governing Board’s midyear meeting can be accessed through the AFS website: http://www.fisheries.org/afs/aboutus.html. Look under “Minutes of the Governing Board Meetings”.

LINK - A link to the Ontario Environment Network (OEN) has been added to the Links page under the Organizations / Associations category.

NEWS - World Record fish captured in the Talbot River - Fish & Wildlife Technician Brent Shirley of the Ministry of Natural Resources recently captured a record-breaking Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) in the Talbot River, near Beaverton, Ontario. For more information see the News page.

NEW PUBLICATION - Ontario Stream Assessment Protocol (Version 8.0), updated May 2010, edited by Les Stanfield, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, contains a series of standardized methodologies for identifying sites, evaluating benthic macroinvertebrates, fish communities, physical habitat and water temperatures in wadeable streams. The OSAP provides standardized methods that ensure data repeatability. Use of these standard methodologies allow data to be shared, used for multiple purposes and stored in a common database. The document may be downloaded from the Online Books / Journals / Publications category on the Links page.

NEW - A synopsis of the 2010 AGM including a Photo Gallery, has been added to the History page. Follow the link for 2010 beside Annual Meetings.

MEMBER PUBLICATIONS - Three papers authored by OC members, entitled Using a landscape approach to identify the distribution and density patterns of salmonids in Lake Ontario tributaries, Effects of percent impervious cover on fish and benthos assemblages and instream habitats in Lake Ontario tributaries and Hindcasting reference conditions in streams were published in Landscape Influences on Stream Habitats and Biological Assemblages. The abstracts can be viewed on our Member Publications page.

LINK - A link to the AFS Fish Name Spell-checker has been added to the Links page under the Software category.  The spell-checker is based on the 2004 Sixth Edition of the authoritative AFS book Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

NCD-AFS - The NCD Resolution on Ecological Separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Drainage Basins has been approved by a vote of 188 for and 7 against. The resolution has now been submitted to the AFS Resolutions Committee for consideration by the Parent Society.

MEMBERSHIP - Don't miss out on important Ontario Chapter correspondence! All members are encouraged to keep their email address up-to-date. Please send email address changes to the webmaster. In addition, remember to update your profile online at https://secure.fisheries.org.

ONLINE STORE - Ontario Chapter merchandise is available for purchase through the Online Store. Currently, AFS-OC baseball caps and lapel pins are available for purchase. We also use this capability for Course, Workshop and Annual General Meeting registrations.